MANILA,
Philippines - A group of real estate brokers, subdivision and socialized
housing developers has called on the Senate to stop the passage of the proposed
National Land Use Act (NLUA) outlining new policies on land use and
development.

In a news
conference at the Hotel Intercontinental Manila in Makati City on Tuesday, the
Advocates for Responsible and Equitable Land Use Planning-spearheaded by the
Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations, Inc. (CREBA), Subdivision
and Housing Developers Association, Inc. (SHDA), Organization of Socialized
Housing Developers of the Philippines, Inc. (OSHDP), and the National Real
Estate Association, Inc. (NREA)-said the enactment of the NLUA will negatively
impact the real estate and housing industry and other critical areas of
economic growth and development.

“This bill
has been drafted hurriedly without the benefit of public hearings and the
required consulations with all concerned stakeholders and as such will bring
all development to a standstill,” CREBA national president Charlie Gorayeb
said.“This will dampen the growth of
the BPO industry and negate gains in tourism, agribusiness and other enterprise
that contribute to national growth.”

The proposal,
contained in House Bill 6545, was approved by the Lower House late last year
and its counterpart in the Upper Chamber, Senate Bill 3091, is also likely to
pass without a hitch before Congress goes in recess for the midterm elections,
Gorayeb added.

Much of the
group’s concern is centered on provisions in the NLUA, which bans the
conversion of agricultural lands and defines them as “protected areas under the
exclusive jurisdiction of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).”

For his part,
Oriental Mindoro Rep. Rodolfo Valencia, chairman of the housing and Urban
Development Committee, said the powers and the participation of local
government units in the planning and management of land within their
territorial jurisdiction are also significantly reduced under the proposed
NLUA.

“All previous
policies and laws will be rendered inutile by the NLUA and government
departments and units whose functions and programs are related to land use will
become impotent,” Valencia said.

“However, we
are most concerned in the area of socialized housing because the NLUA leaves
nothing for settlements, infrastructure and other non-agricultural projects
which are essential to national development,” Valencia added.

Lawyer Ryan
Tan, OSHDP president, said government’s socialized housing program will grind
to a halt along with other developments.“We are not against the allocation of land for agriculture, for food
security.We just want a land use policy
that provides equal consideration and protection to all sectors of society
whose interests are directly affected by it,” Tan said.

The group
said initial communications with members of Senate have been positive and that
they remain confident that critical amendments and revisions to the proposed
NLUA will be made before it is passed by the Upper Chamber.